Awake
by ToxicSpeka
Summary: Something wrong. Shadow doesn't know what, but something's wrong, and it shouldn't be that way.


Have you ever got the feeling that something was just wrong? Maybe you left a door unlocked, maybe you didn't turn off the stove, or closed the fridge all the way, or didn't close a window or even send an important email. Something that needed to be done this instant so your brain would shut up and you'd be able to sleep.

That's how Shadow's been feeling for the past month. Springing up in bed, usually around two or three, and sitting on the edge with a pounding heart, knowing something was left undone or unchecked. Each time he'd get up from his bed, wander his entire house, check his phone for notifications and go through his email, then lay back down and stare straight ahead at the wall while the nagging feeling of something wrong eating away at him until he fell asleep.

It'd been happening nonstop, even getting to the point where he would purposefully leave his door unlocked or 'forget' to close a window, but when he laid to sleep he'd already know what was wrong and immediately go and fix it just to later wake up in the middle of the night to that feeling again.

What's worse was that every time he woke up, he felt utterly drained. As if someone drained nearly all of his chaos energy and had kept him awake for years at a time before slapping him on the behind and telling him to take a trip around his house.

This time, Shadow sat in bed, about thirty or so minutes before he'd usually lay down. Sleeping pills, provided by GUN supposed to keep even a rhino down and out through loud noises and the like. He wasn't exactly sure how many he should take, given his body was hardly affected by outside influences, but whatever he took hit hard.

Shadow yawned and sluggishly laid down, blinking bleary eyes at his wall, window to his back. Soft moonlight filtered in through the closed curtains, giving the room a cool blue shade that only aided in his slumber. There was a shadow against the wall, faint and fuzzy of two of his quills sticking out a bit more along with the silhouette of his bed. He mumbled something along the lines of wondering if he would be able to wake in the morning, but halfway through the sentence died off in his pillow somewhere and the hedgehog snuggled into the covers' warm, heavy hold.

Maybe that could help next time, finding a partner to sleep in the same bed with. Cuddling something warm was probably the best way to go and stay asleep.

But, it was all for nothing. 3 AM on the dot, Shadow woke up. It wasn't so much of actually getting up to do his rounds of his house, but opening his eyes only a crack and staring at the wall in utter annoyance. He shouldn't be awake. This was idiotic! He was far too tired to simply move his limbs enough to sit up, and didn't have the strength to even open his eyes all the way, so he settled for staring at the wall once more. Hopefully sleep would come soon. There was nothing unchecked in his house.

As he stared at the wall, his anxiety only began to spike. Something was wrong about the wall. Shadow tried to focus a bit more, body still unable to move, and slowly he realized why the wall looked to wrong.

There was another shadow. Not just another shadow, another Shadow. Someone that shared his exact silhouette was in his room, but they were… wrong. His shadow was dark, fuzzy around the edges and hardly moving due to his half slumber, but this shadow was not. It was swaying back and forth awkwardly, as if it never learned to stand before, and was slightly transparent. Its shadow was much more faint than it ever should be.

He couldn't believe it. Someone was living in his house the entire time, and he didn't notice it? What agent wouldn't be able to notice someone laying right under their nose!? Especially one that shared his image. Was that why he woke up every night, confused and annoyed beyond belief?

The shadow was changing. It began to morph, horrifically, contorting limbs and melting flesh trying to reform back into Shadow's shape, then turning into a standing mass and fading entirely. Then, Shadow was suddenly very tired, and he couldn't stop his eyes from closing no matter how curious he was.


End file.
